Three of the key players in the Senate

Wayne Dropulich from the Australian Sports party, Senator John Madigan from the Democratic labor Party and David Leyonhjelm the Liberal Democrats.

Transcript

LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Three of the likely key players in the new Senate joined me a short time ago.

From Perth, Wayne Dropulich from the Australian Sports Party.

From Melbourne, Senator John Madigan from the Democratic Labour Party.

And in Sydney, the Liberal Democrats' David Leyonhjelm.

Gentlemen, welcome to all of you.

(All three men say thank you)

Mr Leyonhjelm, first to you. Your float has been significantly inflated by your position on the ballot paper and possibly by the some fact that some people may have confused the Liberal Democrats for the Liberals. Do you deserve to be in the Senate?

DAVID LEYONHJELM, LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PARTY: We think we would've won no matter where we were on the ballot paper. Our vote in South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania was 3.5 to four per cent, and by our calculations that would've meant we were elected anyway. So we think we would've got there without the donkey vote, but I'm quite happy to have the donkey vote. Every party in every election, every ballot paper wants to have the first position, so we were just lucky.

LEIGH SALES: Mr Dropulich, to you, similarly you secured 0.22 per cent of the primary vote, but preferences may get you over the line and get you a spot in the Senate. Do you deserve to be there?

WAYNE DROPULICH, AUSTRALIAN SPORTS PARTY: Oh, yeah, we think so. Whether it's the way that the system is run for the Senate and we've campaigned out there and got our votes and the preferences look like they're gonna be going our way and we've spoken to - we spoke to all the other parties that were contesting Western Australia in the Senate and explained to them our policy and what we're all about and they obviously thought that what we stood for and our agenda is a good thing and they - agreed with what they stand for. So they've obviously preferenced us accordingly and so it's resulted in where we are at the moment.

LEIGH SALES: Senator Madigan, what would you say to Australians who might be concerned about the way our Senate system works so that you have a situation where minor party preference trading can deliver spots to parties with a very small percentage of the primary vote?

JOHN MADIGAN, DEMOCRATIC LABOUR PARTY: Well, Leigh, the first point is that none of the minor parties, as people call them, made the rules. They haven't broken the rules. They've done nothing to deceive people. They've stood for election and they've been elected and that's what a democracy's about.

LEIGH SALES: OK, Mr Dropulich, what's your main political agenda? if you do get a confirmed spot in the Senate, what will you be mostly trying to use that spot for?

WAYNE DROPULICH: Obviously with the Australian Sports Party, we're all about healthy living through sport, so we're trying to promote grassroots and junior sorta sports to try to get as many people and young people as we can into sport. With obesity being a big issue in Australia, we feel that sport's a good avenue to try and get people active and get a healthier society. And then also on top of that, with the people involved in sport who aren't actually participating, but just involved in general, there's a community feel for like clubs and atmospheres like that, so it promotes a community feel and people getting involved in things in the community and being - interacting with each other, which is good for the community.

LEIGH SALES: Obviously when you're a senator, you can't just have a single issue, you have to have a position on a whole range of issues. What's your position, for example, on the carbon tax and whether it should be repealed?

WAYNE DROPULICH: Yeah, well at this stage we're about a week away probably before - if we find out if we definitely have won a seat in the WA Senate. The Electoral Commission said that and when that time comes and if we are still fortunate enough to have one of those seats in the WA Senate, we'll then move on to the next phase of this whole process and then come out with all our various policies and all those various issues.

LEIGH SALES: Mr Leyonhjelm, what about you? What are the most important issues to you?

DAVID LEYONHJELM: We're a libertarian party, a small "l" liberal. So we're in favour of low taxes, less bureaucracy, smaller government, less expenditure. So, the issues to us that matter are reducing taxes, government getting out of the way, getting out of your pocket and off your back. So we'll support anything that reduces taxes and we'll support anything that increases our liberty.

LEIGH SALES: So you would obviously then be in favour of the carbon tax being repealed?

DAVID LEYONHJELM: We would. We would definitely support that and the mining tax. But we are not in favour of the Coalition's policy on Direct Action on climate change, for example. It's just a large amount of money down a black hole which will achieve nothing.

LEIGH SALES: What would you want in return for your support, say, for the repeal of the carbon tax? For example, you think that Australia's gun laws are too restrictive. Would you be looking for some movement on that?

DAVID LEYONHJELM: No, it's not a federal issue, it's a state issue and I can't see any opportunity to make any progress on that.

LEIGH SALES: And what are your views on gun control exactly?

DAVID LEYONHJELM: Well we think gun laws are directed at the wrong people. They're aimed at law-abiding, well-behaved members of the community. They tie them up in knots, but they don't stop criminals from getting guns and they don't stop them from shooting each other in the western suburbs of Sydney.

LEIGH SALES: So would you like to see Australians have greater access to firearms if they wanted to?

DAVID LEYONHJELM: We think a licensing system is legitimate so that some people are not allowed to have access to guns, but we can't see anything achieved by registering them or saying certain types of guns are OK and other kinds of guns are not OK. We think the restrictions are irrational and we oppose them.

LEIGH SALES: Senator Madigan, what's your attitude towards Tony Abbott's plan to repeal the carbon tax and what would you want in return for your support?

JOHN MADIGAN: Well, Leigh, our position is, as publicly has been stated, we believe in the Government - Tony Abbott's government repealing the carbon tax. But we are concerned deeply about what's happening down at Yallourn in Victoria in the La Trobe Valley. There's 75 workers who've been shut out of Energy Australia's plant. We're concerned about the transition to the so-called Clean Energy Future and the fact - where's the money that the La Trobe Valley was promised, for instance? We're concerned about the Energy Security Council and the $500-odd million that Energy Australia received from the Federal Government. And in the abolition of the carbon tax, what are they going to do about the Clean Energy Regulator and the systemic regulatory failure that has come about in the wind industry and also the problems in the solar industry?

LEIGH SALES: Let me ask each of you the same question to finish. Tony Abbott has been elected with a really substantial majority. If you found yourself in this position, would it really be fair for any one of you to use your Senate slot to block any of his legislative agenda? Mr Leyonhjelm?

DAVID LEYONHJELM: We respect his mandate and we wouldn't seek to block anything that didn't contravene our two principles, that is, a reduction in tax - reduction in taxes or an increase in liberty. So as long as he wasn't aiming to increase taxes or deprive us of any of our freedoms, we respect his mandate.

LEIGH SALES: Senator Madigan, do you respect his mandate?

JOHN MADIGAN: Well, look, Leigh, the Government is made up in the Lower House. The Senate is a house of review. I hope truly that the Senate will return to being a true house of review that reviews legislation in the best interests of all Australians. And being elected to Parliament, to the Senate, is a privilege, it's not a licence to bludgeon. But it is a licence to put forward people's concerns and to express sections of our society that get ignored.

LEIGH SALES: Mr Dropulich, do you recognise Tony Abbott's mandate?

WAYNE DROPULICH: Yeah, well, if we make it into the Senate, then all these issues that are gonna come up, we'll look at all of them and get all the information that we can and see both sides of the arguments and make a decision on each individual issue that's before us in the Senate.

LEIGH SALES: Gentlemen, thank you very much to all of you for your time tonight and good luck for whatever lies ahead.